The Case For

The case for describing Tarbell as an activist begins with her connections to and interest in advocates for social change and reform throughout her career. After leaving her profession as a teacher, Tarbell took up her first writing post for The Chautauquan, the magazine belonging to the “Chautauqua” school for adult further education. This magazine explored a variety of topics but was aimed at introducing writers and discussions to a popular audience. 

Examples of Tarbell’s work for the Chautauquan that highlight her personal belief in social change include her 1887 article “Women as Inventors.”

The History of the Standard Oil Company (written for McClure’s magazine) was highly motivated by Tarbell’s personal knowledge of Standard Oil, and her commitment to seeing change. Tarbell had a personal grievance with John D. Rockefeller, given his hostile business practices. Also, Standard Oil had a direct role in destroying the independent oil refineries, such as the ones Tarbell’s father Franklin relied on for work, and which kept the local communities of the Pennsylvania oil fields afloat.

Moreover, throughout the course of her investigation into Standard Oil, Tarbell personally faced the ire of Rockefeller, as he attempted to threaten the financial stability of her employer, McClure’s magazine. Tarbell remained steadfast in her belief, however, and pursued her investigation and instalments of The History of Standard Oil.  Her motivations are a testament to her strong personal belief in the necessity for social change. The motivations for activists, and activist movements, are often very personal and, while the counter-argument could be made that her motivations are too personal to count as activism, Tarbell, certainly, was not unique in this personal drive.

The notable impact of her work The History of the Standard Oil Company on Progressive Era American society and the economy certainly resembles what we might identify as activism. Tarbell’s legacy, as her work catalysed a swathe of anti-trust regulation, the founding of the Federal Trade Commission and the dissolution of Standard Oil, is the kind of change that would be coveted by the Occupy Wall Street movement among others.

The Case Against

Throughout her career, Tarbell wrote many biographies of famous and historical figures. Her first biographical research was into Madame Roland, a rousing figure of the French revolution who caught Tarbell’s fascination when she was living in Paris. Her investigation into Roland, however, led Tarbell to recognise the more disappointing truth, where a once-inspiring revolutionary turned to a more sinister example of unrestrained violence.

Tarbell’s experience with the biography of Madame Roland emphasises her desire for a more measured and balanced approach. Despite much of Tarbell’s work resembling what we might call activism, we too should make a measured assessment, as her life and career are far more nuanced than a singular conclusion.

Tarbell certainly did not see herself as, or aspire to be, a revolutionary like Madame Roland. Moreover, she never described her work as activism, and even pushed back against her “Muckraker” title. Tarbell saw herself as a more moderate figure in contrast to her “radical” peers, including those she knew as friends. As she once wrote of other Muckraker journalists…

Comparing Tarbell to some of her Muckraker counterparts, such as Ida B. Wells, also diminishes the case for her as an activist. Wells, like Tarbell, utilised investigative journalism to expose the ills of society. Yet Wells took a much firmer stance in publicly advocating for social change, as she was among the founders of the NAACP and helped pioneer this civil rights movement.

Additionally, Tarbell’s The History of Standard Oil (for which she is most associated with activism) was arguably more focused on the exposé of Rockefeller and his company than deliberately advocating for economic reform.

Finally, defining Tarbell as an activist is, I would argue, complicated by the fact that her work was commissioned by McClure’s magazine in response to the success of an earlier series on crime. That is not to ignore, however, Tarbell’s connections to the story of Oil monopolies, and her personal grievances with Rockefeller.  

The Significance of Tarbell, the Activist

Having laid out both the cases for and against identifying Tarbell as an activist, you might wonder why it matters anyway. Whether or not we can call The History of Standard Oil activism, both the work and Tarbell herself had a profound impact on American economy and society. However, I would argue that our balanced findings on Tarbell’s activist distinction highlight important discussions about activism at large. In an age of media scepticism and “fake news,” where debates around seemingly all areas of life feel increasingly polarised, Tarbell reminds us that those operating in the grey areas can be just as influential.

What do you think – was Ida Tarbell an activist, and was The History of Standard Oil an example of activism? How has debating Tarbell thrown into question, or clarity, what defines an activist? And finally, how does appreciating the nuances of Tarbell’s position, and difficulties in defining her, shape our understanding of the role of journalists today?